I Repay You With the Stars
by xxstaindrosesxx
Summary: After the loss of his family, Hannah Abbott helped Neville Longbottom through one of the most difficult things in life. In return, all she wanted was dinner. This is how Neville repays her with that dinner, and with so much more, including the stars. -Second in my Hannah/Neville series. Lullabies & Eulogies comes first.


A knock sounded at the front door as a fist pounded against the heavy wood. Footsteps hurriedly scurried down the stairs and stopped at the front door. A hand reached for the knob, turned, then pulled it open. On the other side stood a beautiful blonde woman, her eyes full of compassion and softness. Those two attributes were only two of the reasons Neville Longbottom found himself infatuated with Hannah Abbott.

After the loss of both of his parents and his grandmother, Neville turned to alcohol to soothe his aching heart. One fateful night, his problem led him to the Leaky Cauldron for a tumbler full of fire whiskey. While the amber colored liquid burned his throat and threatened to ebb away his pain, it did not work for his overall emotional distress. Instead, it was Hannah who comforted him that night. She guided him on the right path, and the very next day, even held his hand throughout the funeral. Without her, he might not be standing before her this very minute.

Even though Hannah took time out of her busy schedule with running the pub, all she asked in return from Neville was for one dinner. Very much obliged, Neville spend the next month preparing his home. Dust gathered in every little nook and cranny, covered every book within the library. Even the windows fogged and lackluster due to the lack of care while his grandmother grew ill. Neville was off exploring the world, his eyes set on new plant species, unaware of his grandmother's illness until he returned to bury his parents. She lasted only a week further, no doubt dying from a broken heart due to the loss of her one and only son.

Still, Neville kept his word. With the house clean, he owed Hannah that date, so he wrote to her. The note requested she meet him at his house the very next day at six in the evening. He had the entire date planned out, and so all Hannah had to do was show up.

"Good evening, Hannah." Neville greeted with a soft smile on his face as he stood there in nothing but a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, suitable for the date he had planned. "I hope you had no problems finding the place."

"Of course not. I just popped in, well, or more like outside I'm at the front door and not in your house. I just think it's so rude when people pop in, ya know?" She questioned as she rambled on a bit. Neville liked it when she rambled on, but once more, he admired the way she dressed in nothing fancy, not even for their date. Hannah seemed down to earth and very low maintenance, which he liked in a woman. Before him she stood there in a soft yellow shirt, the sleeves reaching to her elbows, and a white skirt which reached just below her knees. Even brown flats resided on her feet for easy walking.

Neville smiled and actually stepped outside, shutting the door behind him. While Hannah might find it completely rude for him to shut her out of his house, the date he planned took place outside. "I know exactly what you mean, and please, don't find this rude, but I thought we might have our dinner outside. I planned a small picnic." He explained, his smile faint as he worried she might not appreciate a picnic. Neville just thought with her working at the pub every day around greasy unhealthy food, she might want something more simple, and not prepared by herself or one of her workers.

"That sounds lovely." Hannah beamed since Neville did not go for the typical dinner date like most men did on the first date. Sure, there was nothing wrong with that, but Hannah liked a bit of adventure, although not too much. Perhaps that's why she liked Neville so much. On one hand, he was brave enough to fight for them during the Second War, even establishing Dumbledore's Army once more, but he destroyed a Horcrux too. On the other hand, he enjoyed the outdoors and kept to himself quite frequently. He had a calmness to him at times, and Hannah enjoyed that very much. Sometimes she wanted adventure and chaos, while other times she needed serenity.

"Great, then if you just come with me, I have everything set up already." Neville said softly in order to not sound intimidating. Some guys liked to be in control, and while Neville had planned this entire date, he owed her one. He just didn't want to come off as one of those controlling guys who needed to take charge with everything though.

With one deep breath to calm his nerves, Neville slowly reached for Hannah's hand and clasped it gently with his own before he began to walk towards the location he had picked. To his surprise, Hannah smiled at him and held onto his hand with such ease and comfort, which was just another reason he liked her. She was easy going and not offended by the simplest of things.

After a minute or so, Neville and Hannah arrived at the spot Neville picked out in the back yard. During the month he had not spoken to Hannah, he had cleaned half of the time, and spent the other half building a greenhouse and planting a garden. In order to continue his studies, he needed the greenhouse for the more questionable wizarding plants, and the garden for every day use. He enjoyed working with his hands and getting dirty, and with Herbology being his number one love, he needed it in his life. What better way then to build a greenhouse and plant a garden?

However, one of the most distinctive new features to the back yard had to be three small pine trees. He had planted them in honor of his parents and his grandmother. That's where he placed an old black blanket on the ground, and the picnic basket resided with what food he prepared only an hour or so before Hannah arrived.

As he guided her to the spot, he let Hannah sit down first before taking the spot next to her. It seemed rude to sit down first, although the gentleman in him is what truly thought so. "I hope you don't mind sandwiches and cookies," he mentioned hesitantly as he opened up the picnic basket and began pulling out the contents. "I don't know what kind of sandwiches you like, or cookies, but I don't know how to cook much. I only learned how to make cookies because of my grandmother." He explained, and that rang true to most grandmothers when it came to baking.

"I'm not that picky as long as you didn't make egg salad sandwiches." Hannah responded with a bright smile still spread across her soft pink lips.

Neville frowned and wrinkled his brow. "Oh, that's all I made." He said rather seriously, his voice full of disappointment as his eyes cast downwards in shame.

"Oh." Hannah uttered quietly, her hands folded in her lap as she had no idea how to respond.

Just then, Neville glanced up and smiled mischievously at Hannah. "I'm kidding! I packed ham and cheese, turkey and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. The cookies are chocolate chip."

"Oh you, arse!" Hannah exclaimed with a brief chuckle and playfully slapped him in the shoulder with her hand. At least he had a sense of humor.

With a grin still plastered across his face, Neville finished pulling out all of the food from the picnic basket, even a couple of bottles of water to wash all of the food down. He had no idea what Hannah liked to drink, and since alcohol was out of the question due to his recent issues, he figured water worked best.

"Well, go ahead and eat up." Neville nudged her along as he reached for one of the sandwiches - not caring what kind it was - and began eating quietly. He watched as Hannah did the same, even simple gestures like her eating he found erotic. Right now he felt like a school boy, his heart fluttering away in his chest.

Swallowing down a bite, Neville looked at Hannah while he spoke. "I still can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me. I would probably be drinking myself into oblivion if it wasn't for you." Although this date was repayment, Neville didn't feel he could repay Hannah enough. Her kindness went beyond the means of a simple picnic date.

Hannah swallowed her own bite and smiled back at him. "There is no need to thank me. I feel I treated you the way I would want to be treated in a situation like that." She uttered quietly before reaching for a cookie. With one bite, her face lit up with happiness. "Oh this is really good."

Neville grinned. "Gran taught me how to make those. They're good, but still not as good as hers. I think just knowing she made them, made them taste better." His heart sank momentarily at the thought of his grandmother, but the grief he felt did not compare to a month before when he first lost her.

"She was an amazing woman." Hannah smiled before taking another bite of the cooking and polished it off in about three bites total.

"So are you." The words slipped from Neville's lips with such ease that he did not feel the embarrassment burning into his cheeks until after he realized what he just said.

Even a light pink blush crept into Hannah's cheeks with such a compliment. To be compared to his grandmother was truly a compliment. "Thank you."

Neville simply nodded and continued to eat quietly due to his embarrassment. Instead of saying anything else, the two ate in silence until they were finished. Hannah truly enjoyed the cookies as she ate several more then Neville had intended. By the time they finished eating, the day sky had diminished from shades of orange and pink into nothing but dark blackness. The only defining feature of the night sky were the bright white stars shining amongst the blackness.

Moving the picnic basket aside and all of the trash from eating, Neville laid down on the blanket to stare up at the stars. He had done this as a kid, often wondering why some stars shone brighter than others. To think that most of the stars in the sky had already burned out by the time the light reached them was sad, but they burned so bright, nonetheless. Every time he stared up at the sky, he often thought about his parents, even his grandmother now. To him, they were stars in the night sky, ever so bright and bold.

Neville felt the blanket shift next to him as Hannah laid down beside him. He smiled, although due to the darkness, she probably couldn't see. He reached over with his hand and gently took hers into his own. He liked the way her hand seemed to fit into his so perfectly, and while staring up at the night sky, this date felt like the most brilliant day he had in such a long time.

"You know, the brightest star in the night sky is the North Star. I think they should have named it Hannah." Neville knew how corny that sounded, but he truly meant it. Hannah's bright beauty and personality attracted him to her and helped him through a difficult time in his life.

Hannah chuckled momentarily and squeezed his hand in a friendly gesture. "That's a nice thought, but don't they say people who are lost should follow the North Star in the night sky? I'm not very good at directions so they would all stay lost." She joked.

Neville laughed and continued to stare up at the night sky, smiling wider then he had in quite some time. This time with Hannah filled his heart with joy instead of grief and despair. She truly brought the best out in him and filled his life with happiness once more. That's when he knew he wanted to name all the stars Hannah and to keep her in his life as much as possible.

"Hannah?" Neville questioned.

"Hmm?"

"I would like to see you again, on a date that's not a repayment." Neville admitted as his heart swelled with happiness, yet a pang of fear worried she did not feel the same.

"Of course, and I was never here because you felt you had to repay me. I am here because I want to be." Hannah admitted, a bright smile lighting up her face once more.

As the two smiled with happiness, they stared up at the night sky. They had nothing to fear, nothing to lose. Instead, the two would slowly discover what it meant to blossom into a relationship, to let their feelings for each other develop into so much more then compassion and the friendship they once shared during their days at Hogwarts. As the night drifted on, the two fell asleep underneath the stars, and those stars belonged to them.


End file.
